Playing with the Dog
by insomniac-od
Summary: Playing with the dog can ruin your clothes.


**Playing with the Dog**  
  
She sighed as she sipped her tea gingerly. He would be waking in a matter of minutes and he would most certainly not be pleased to learn of the decisions she had made during the short period of his slumber.  
  
Strange, how she and Alucard were connected from that moment he accepted her mastery over him in the dungeon ten over years ago. Contrary to the Round Table's assumptions, Alucard was not merely fulfilling the bargain of servitude he owed to her forefathers. No, it was a trade between him and each heir of the family. No one would ever understand, until forced into her position, the terrible price that she paid for the vampire's vague promises of loyalty.  
  
Further more, from that moment they made that terrible contract, an indestructible bond was formed between their minds. One with consequences that would torment her until she earned the sweet slumber of death. For from that fateful moment ten years ago, she could hear his thoughts and he, hers. At first the constant sound of his voice in her head nearly drove her mad but by some miracle of God and with sagely advice from Walter, she learnt to ignore it to the extent that it now bothered her no more than background noise.  
  
This however, was not the most painful lesson she had learnt. In order to spare herself further unnecessary and incredible mental anguish, she could not allow herself to be asleep at the same time as Alucard. The first time she had allowed it to happen had been disastrous. She did not ever intend to repeat that experience. Alucard rarely slept but on the first occasion he did, she found herself forcefully removed from her own quiet slumber, only to be trapped in the insanity and memories that was contained within his mind until he awoke.  
  
She cringed at the memory of that unfortunate incident. The mental violation had disturbingly revealed to her the manner in which he viewed her and more importantly, his view on their relationship.  
  
'It is true,' she thought. 'Ignorance is bliss.'  
  
Since that unfortunate experience, she had always sought confirmation that he was awake before allowing herself rest. He on the other hand, seemed eager to comply and to keep her out of his sub-consciousness. Although she doubted that he had any human decency left in him, half of her suspected that he was rather embarrassed by the whole incident.  
  
'Embarassed by the loss of control or of,' she paused before turning her mind back to the unpleasant task at hand. She glanced warily at the telephone on the table. Should she call Walter in as extra precaution?  
  
She decided against it. Alucard was /her/ problem and if she could not deal with him on her own this time, she would not be able to continue her role as master of the monster. Any doubts on her part of her own control over him only served to encourage him to further test the boundaries.  
  
A low growl at the back of her head alerted her to the fact Alucard had woken. Bracing herself, she turned her attention back to the papers in front of her. She read the contents of the letter slowly, deliberately allowing him to absorb the impact of the words.   
  
'Better he find out now than later,' she thought.  
  
_'And in light of recent events, my orders are that Sir Integra seek the assistance of the Iscariots in dealing with the Millennium. The Vatican has promised utmost co-operation in this matter in return for a temporary truce. In order to show sincerity on our part for this favour and in line with the Vatican's request, I command that Alucard be kept out of the manor for the upcoming negotiations to be held in Hellsing manor.'_  
  
Barely within a second, she felt a tingling chill at the back of her head, the same chill she always experienced whenever he was physically near her.  
  
He was furious and he was literally storming through the walls in his own way. Although his form was still shadowy as he had yet to fully materialize before her, she could see or rather feel the scrowl on his face.  
  
"They want us to do what?" he demanded as he stalked towards her.  
  
"Will you get a grip on yourself?" she chided as she placed her papers neatly on the table. She glanced up briefly at the seething vampire standing before her. "This is only a temporary arrangement. I hate the idea as much as you do but as you may have already noticed, we are hardly in the position to refuse their help."  
  
He slamed his hands angrily on the table. "I am all that you need. We do not need to agree to this ridiculous alliance," he bellowed as he shook the table in fury.  
  
She frowned as the brown liquid in her tea cup reacted violently.  
  
"Stop it Alucard. For one, it is I who make the decisions, not we. For another, had you not been so overconfident with the Rip incident, I would not have needed to suffer that humiliating loss and thus this need now to seek the Vatican's assistance. And if your dramatic antics result in the tea spilling on my papers ..."  
  
He glowed at her taunt. Impatiently, he cut her off. "Do not detract from the issue at hand. I do not see why I have to work with those filthy creatures. You, I know are of the same opinion. Give me the nod and I will kill them. We do not have to lower ourselves to this."  
  
Integra bit her lower lip in frustration. "No, her Majesty has given precise orders that we are to liase with the Iscariots for more information on the Millennium and that will be all for now."  
  
Alucard opened his mouth to protest but apparently thought the better of it. "For now?" he asked, slowing forcing his lips into a smirk.  
  
"For now," she confirmed as she lazily applied a layer of strawberry jam onto the scone beside the tea cup.  
  
He stared petulantly at her even as she lifted the morsel to her lips. Forcing herself to speak in a calm tone despite her racing anxiety at the mental protests raised by Alucard, she continued giving her instructions.  
  
Life with him was a constant battle of wills.  
  
"Her Majesty only ordered a truce so that we may find out more information on our enemy. My main goal right now is to catch hold of that fat little man and to hang him and his dratted freaks from their toes. The quarrel with Andersong and company must wait for the greater good."  
  
"So once we have the information we require, I may have permission to tear that regenerator into so many pieces there won't be enough left of him to regenerate from," Alucard prompted. He was grinning a little as he heard the answer from her lips before they even left them.  
  
"Whatever must be done must be done at the correct time," she replied. After a minute's pause, she continued, "Only, do not repeat your mistake of over-confidence."  
  
Alucard said nothing but it was obvious from the change of expression on his face that the last sentence had stung his pride.  
  
"The mistake was not mine alone," he said in a low voice. She looked up in surprise at the tone his voice had taken. Was he actually upset? Afterall, she had hurt the only thing he ever cared about – his pride.  
  
Despite herself, Integra found herself regretting her earlier choice of words.  
  
"Perhaps, I suppose I too have," she stammered. "Alright, I confess that I didn't see the Major's purpose myself until his forces were upon the manor. It would have helped however," she said thoughtfully, "if you had gone easy on your need to be dramatic. I didn't see why you couldn't have just slaughtered Rip and her cronies within less time. Afterall, for the great Alucard, you sure took your own sweet time to deal with the rift-raft. And for every minute you were on that ship cackling like a mad man, we were one person short back here."  
  
"Even the great Alucard can only be in one place at a time," he retorted angrily. "Had you accepted my ..."  
  
Integra felt an indignant sense of righteousness flush through her. "How many times have I to remind you? Never mention that accursed notion in front of me again. No matter how many times you tempt me, I shall not agree to it."  
  
He grinned maliciously at the discomfort in her voice. "You lie. Even you are of aware how much stronger you would be if you could discard your foolish sense of righteousness."  
  
"And be thrice damned than those heretic Iscariots," she shot back in reply. "You are at best offering me sanctuary from brimstone in return for eternity in hell's flames. Seras may not have been aware of what your so called offers entail but my position remains that as it was ten years ago. I will never call you 'master'."  
  
"You foolish woman, you cannot see sense nor your own true desires."  
  
She snorted. "You may presume whatever you may think but I will never lower myself to your position, servant," Integra replied, her voice dripping with venom.  
  
Alucard returned the insult with a snarl of his own so primal she swore it was like being growled at by a lion before it tore you apart. Something about his demeanour told her to stop the foolish argument there and then.  
  
Unfortunately, there was already too much pride at stake.  
  
"I will die human if I must die. Go find some other foolish woman to join you in your undead romps."  
  
He reacted immediately, snarling angrily, he gnashed his fangs as he grabbed her by her shoulders. There was something in his voice that she could not quite make out. Was it anger at her refusal and mockery of him or was it something more complex than that?  
  
"Your ridiculous insistence on clinging to your pathetic humanity blinds you. I do not make the offer lightly. Do not insult me!"  
  
She took advantage of his surprise to push him away from her. "Your worthless vampirism will be the last thing I will want in this life," she yelled. "I would rather die than become one like you."  
  
"You will indeed die if you continue insisting on this foolish course of action. Your weakness will kill you."  
  
"I will take my chances and for all your claims of unbridled power, you could not and still cannot deal with a problem as minor as the Millennium ..."  
  
She found herself frozen in the middle of her barrage. Instinctively, she knew she had gone too far even before the reply from Alucard exploded within her head. The look of fury on his face was terrible to behold as he swiftly lugged into her and pinned her against the wall.  
  
He snarled like a wounded beast as he bared his teeth inches from her face. "Do not mock me. I will not be looked down upon."  
  
Integra squeaked in pain. He was hurting her and the fact he was now in a superior position hurt as badly as the physical pain itself. She always prided herself on being much stronger than the average human but then again, not many humans found themselves pinned between concrete walls and enraged vampires.  
  
"Alucard, you're choking me," she cried, half in anger and half in pain. "Let go of me you bastard."  
  
He did not let her go completely although his grip on her neck was now not quite so suffocating. Silently, he stared into her eyes. The minutes seemed hours but she noticed that look on his face had morphed from one of unbridled anger to one alternating between mischief and pure malice.  
  
"Let go of me," she commanded again, her own blue eyes staring back into his dark red globes. While she could not win in a battle of strength, this game of wills was one in which he engaged her everyday and today would be no different - she would win.  
  
"Let go of me this instant," she said, with as much dignity as she could muster.  
  
"Why should I not just take you here and now?" he asked spitefully. "I will take what is mine – both your body and your soul."  
  
Integra stared, enraged by his audacity. "Remember your place servant," she barked.  
  
"And who is going to stop me?" he taunted as he deliberately combed his free hand through her blonde locks. "You, your manservant or what Hellsing bind?"  
  
She blinked curiously as he removed his hand from her neck. She tried to move but found herself almost immediately held in place by the shadowy tendrils that seemed to be part of his hair. The tendrils grew longer and more in number as she struggled. Not content with holding her in place, some of them reached under her blazer and yet others, underneath her waistband. She gasped, feeling a strange and perverse sense of pleasure as they stroked her in the most intimate of places.  
  
"Shall we find out how determined the little girl is to keep her pet in place?"  
  
"You are bound to serve me," she said, desperately willing her breathing to be less ragged. "And I command you to let me ..."  
  
She never did finish her sentence for he silenced her lips roughly with his own. Involuntarily, she closed her eyes, lost in the moment - to her chagrin much later. Fortunately or not, the sensation of something cold and wet in contact with her neck made her open her eyes in a hurry and Integra found herself somewhat sobered by her disgust at the sight before her. Alucard was still kissing her but he had grown an extra head on his left arm and this head, half canine half human was now disconcertingly close to her neck.  
  
She struggled but with little success. He was too strong and having too much effect on her. Desperately, she fought the strange and drowsy euphoria the shadowy tendrils were inflicting as they caressed her body.  
  
'Damn it, I am kissing a dead man,' she thought, determined to break free.  
  
Her anger was just about enough for her to pull away from his kiss. "Let go of me," she hissed even as a disturbingly wanton moan threatened to escape her throat. "Let go of me this instant."  
  
He said nothing but turned to lavish his attention to her chest, elicting more violent reactions from her. Her body shook violently and she almost choked on the effort to swallow the whimpering sounds coming involuntarily from her.  
  
She heard him laugh viciously in her mind. "No, I will not stop until you beg me to finish what I intend to finish tonight. I can be such a good servant when in the mood, master."  
  
Integra panicked as she felt one of his hands undo the buttons on her blouse. Judging from the signs her body was sending to her mind, unless she did something about the situation soon, the other would succeed in removing her trousers. If that were to happen, thought Integra fearfully, she was not quite confident how rationale she could remain about the whole matter.  
  
Just then, she felt the intensity of Alucard's 'ministrations' increase. She trembled inwardly as she felt the shadowy tendrils holding down her right arm morph into something capable of licking the sensitive spots in her elbow joint - something it did slowly and sensuously.  
  
"Damn," she cursed both him and herself. The bastard apparenly knew that she was cracking up too. Despite the knowledge that any attempts to defend her dignity were ineffectual, she instinctively swung her right hand at him, taking advantage of the weakened hold.  
  
The events that took place within the next minute was a blur to her. She only heard a low growl of pain. It was only when he stood back from her, bleeding, that she realized what she had done. All this while, she had been holding onto the knife she had used to butter the scones.  
  
She glared warily at the deep gnash across his jaw and the look of surprise in his eyes.  
  
"In case, you forget, all my silverware is blessed. You best be out of here before I decide to inflict more damage on you."  
  
He stared at her, as if unsure of how to react by this turn of events. She in turn, eyed him carefully. He appeared subdued but as with all vampires, you could never quite tell and in truth, she did not have all that much experience with tamed or allegedly tamed ones.  
  
"Get out of here now. I am still the master here and my word is final. Get out!"  
  
A wicked smirk crossed his lips even as the blackened skin around the wound started to heal. "Wonderful, I swear on my coffin that you would make a great vampire."  
  
She felt a white flash of rage cross her eyes. "Get the hell out of here!" she screamed, flinging the knife at him.  
  
Deftly, he dodged the offending projectile. "Well, goodnight to you too, Sir Hellsing," he said maliciously, melting into the shadows beneath her feet. "We will continue this conversation another night."  
  
"The hell we are not," she yelled even as he disappeared completely from view.  
  
She swore that it was truly by some miracle she made it back to her chair before she collapsed painfully into it. As she breathed deeply, she noticed with distaste that her shirt had been stained by a good amount of blood – his, she hoped.  
  
'What is it about that blasted vampire that has me reacting so violently,' she thought to herself. 'Damn him to eternity and back.'  
  
Integra made a point to have a silver blade on hand at all times. Preferrably one hidden underneath her blazer.  
  
She stared tiredly at the room around her. The clock on the wall told her that she would be due for another meeting in less than fifteen minutes.  
  
Sighing, she lifted and craddled the receiver of the telephone thoughtfully even as she heard the comforting voice of her faithful retainer on the other end.   
  
"Walter, if I could trouble you to bring me a fresh change of clothes and to send the ones I am wearing now to the laundry immediately before the stains set.  
  
Oh no, nothing much, I just playing with the dog."


End file.
